


But I'll Listen Til Sunrise

by littlebitlostandfound



Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Scars, Tiny Kat AU, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:00:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,842
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23768137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlebitlostandfound/pseuds/littlebitlostandfound
Summary: Katherine was feeling insecure about her scars until Anne showed hers.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 124





	But I'll Listen Til Sunrise

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by darkdisrepair's Tiny Tiny Kat AU.

“I can’t wait to come home; it’s like these days have been dragging on and on and I can’t stand being away from you all for so long.”

Jane had been out of town for the past couple days to do interviews for the show, and she tries her best to check in back home as much as she can. Aragon had taken Parr and Anna with her on their regular grocery trip, leaving Anne to hold the fort down at home.

“Same here. But at least we’re quite occupied so it’s not that bad.” Anne smiles, transferring the phone from one ear to the other.

“Ugh, I’m so jealous. I miss the little one. How is she, by the way?” Jane’s voice softened at the thought of Kitty, who had been staying with them for a good couple weeks now and have immediately grown to accept her as a member of their little family.

“Napping as of now.” Anne said, her voice dropping a tad bit lower. It was quiet for a second before she grinned as a memory flashed through her mind. “We made waffles yesterday, she seemed to really like them, she asked for seconds.”

“Oh, I’m so happy to hear that! Is she talking a lot now? I hate missing out on so much.” Jane was now talking a mile a minute, her excitement getting the best of her.

Anne lets out a chuckle.

“She talks a bit; you know, still just little words here and there. But she’s slowly coming out of her shell and I’m so proud of her.” Anne beams, her voice light and warm from just talking about how much Kitty has grown since they’ve taken her in. “I know she understands a whole lot more than what she can say, though. She has a permanent thinking face on.”

“Oh, no doubt about it.” Jane smiles. Her phone beeps, indicating that she was supposed to be on her way to the next interview. She sighed loudly, giving Anne a clear signal. “Anne, I have to go.”

“I know.”

“If we book that tentative time slot later this evening, I can be back home as early as tomorrow,” Jane explains as she wedges her phone between her ear and her shoulder as she used both hands to put on her shoes.

“Oh, that’s good! Text me those flight details so we can pick you up at the airport, alright?”

“You lot are amazing, thank you. I’ll call again after the interview, alright? Tell Kitty I said hi.”

“Will do. Take care!” Anne greets before she hangs up the phone. Leaning back against the headboard, she lets out a sigh, smiling a bit as she recalls yesterday’s events.

_“Good morning, Kitty,” Anne whispers, gently tapping Kitty’s shoulder. Her eyes flash open in slight panic, but visibly relaxes when she saw it was only Anne. “Do you wanna come eat breakfast with me?”_

_She received a small nod before sitting up, stretching slightly. She was still healing. Kitty steps down from her bed and follows her downstairs, situating herself on a barstool by the counter._

_“You craving anything in particular?” Anne asks, opening the cupboards and trying to see what she could make with what they have._

_“Waffles?” Kitty says apprehensively, her voice barely above a whisper. Anne sensed that she was obviously bracing for rejection; poor thing._

_“Sounds perfect.” Anne quickly agrees, pulling out the needed ingredients to make Kitty’s requested breakfast._

_“Do you want strawberries with that?” Anne asks by the fridge, holding out a plastic case for her to see. Kitty nodded, and Anne could’ve sworn she saw the faintest trace of a smile._

_Anne was already laying out the ingredients and was about to measure them out when she heard Kitty’s voice interrupt._

_“Help?” Her voice was uncertain. She looked so eager but was constantly fearful of how Anne might react._

_With a big grin, Anne replied, “Of course, love.”_

_She measured out the ingredients and let Kitty pour them into the bowl, as well as let her mix the batter, interrupting every once in a while from cutting strawberries to mix in the sides._

_“Correct?” Kitty asked, mixing with both hands holding the spoon as Anne held the bowl in place._

_“You’re doing an awesome job, Kitty!” Anne praises, and without thinking, Kitty smiled at Anne with her little teeth showing, rendering her speechless. She had never seen her smile like that before, and she was so happy that she was starting to open up._

_Anne started to ladle the batter over the waffle iron that she prepped when Kitty was almost done mixing. She made more than enough for everyone in the flat, setting some aside and plating a few pieces for the two of them to eat. Anne garnished the top and sides with strawberries and allowed Kitty to pour an immense amount of maple syrup over it._

_They sat next to each other rather than across. Anne sliced little bite sized portions for Kitty and transferred them to another plate while she ate directly from the stack, not wanting to contribute to the pile of dishes to be washed._

_“Thank you,” Kitty expressed, shoveling one bite sized portion after another. She swallowed before continuing. “Good.”_

_“Of course, love. I don’t think I could’ve done it without your help.” Anne smiled, leaning over to ruffle Kitty’s hair._

_“Anne?” Kitty said, grabbing her attention. She doesn’t use her name; nor anyone’s. She usually taps her thigh or shoulder to get her attention._

_“Hmm? What’s up, Kitty?”_

_“More?” Her voice was small and shy, and Anne looks at her plate and sees it wiped clean. She has done so much this morning that Anne could feel her heart about to explode from pride._

_“Of course!”_

Anne shakes her head, but couldn’t help but smile fondly at the memory. When she was about to pick up her phone she heard a small voice coming from the other room.

Anne heard another whimper, and she all but rushed towards Kitty’s room.

She looked so tiny on her large bed, and she was crying as she had clearly just woken up from a nightmare.

She had come a long way since staying with the queens, and they were happy that she was almost at an acceptable weight for her height and age. She’s still painfully shy but she tries her best to talk a little bit more everyday and she has the sweetest voice they’ve ever heard.

She still gets nightmares, though. And panic attacks and flashbacks. She shuts down sometimes and it freaks all of them out but they’re living one day at a time.

“Hey, Kitty, I’m here,” Anne soothes, rushing to her side. Uncharacteristically, she throws herself in Anne’s arms, seeking comfort from someone else other than Anna or Jane for the first time. Anne holds her tightly, and Kitty buries her face in Anne’s chest as if trying to disappear.

“Ugly.” She says, taking Anne aback.

“What? No, you’re not, Kitty.” Anne countered, closing her eyes to keep her tears at bay. Where did this insecurity come from?

“I am. They told me I was ugly because I have so many scars.” She admits, crying into her shirt. This was the most she’s talked in her time spent with them but she’s been too blinded by the hurt to even notice.

Anne’s gut wrenches knowing that these were the things that plague her dreams.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Anne coos, gently rubbing Kitty’s back as she rested her cheek on the top of her head. An idea pops into her mind. “I want to show you something.”

She positioned Kitty so that she was sitting on her lap, a leg on each side and facing her. With a deep breath, she removed her choker, revealing a clean, white scar around her neck.

“Way, way back, a bad man wanted me to lose my head,” Anne started, running her fingers over the scar. She’s come to terms with it. If this was what it took to help Kitty, then so be it. “Sometimes when I think about that time, I can feel it sting.”

Kitty raised her tiny hand up to touch it, but instantly recoiled.

“It’s okay, love. You can touch.” Anne said, taking her small hand and leading it where her scar was. Kitty ghosted her fingers over it, her eyes puffy but wondering.

“This was from when I tripped over a cable at the theater and landed on the corner of an apple box,” She moved on, lifting her shirt up to reveal the scar on her side that went along the side of her torso.

She let Kitty touch that, too.

She showed her a few more scars that littered her body, allowing Kitty to touch every single one of them.

“I have scars, too, Kitty, and I don’t think I’m ugly. It took a while for me to be fully comfortable with them but I realized that my scars are just proof that I’ve survived all the bad things that happened to me.” Anne explained. Kitty nodded her head, slightly understanding.

Such a smart girl. Their smart, beautiful girl.

Anne was about to put her choker back on when Kitty’s little hands stopped her. What surprised her though was when Kitty took a deep breath before lifting up her own shirt.

She was showing Anne her scars.

The queens were still mostly in the dark with Kitty’s past but she was so proud of this brave little girl that she was going to tell her about them herself.

Kitty traced her scars, explaining them with the words she knew such as ‘smoke sticks’ and 'sharp things’. She explained what she had done to deserve them and from Anne’s point of view, she didn’t deserve any of it.

“Touch,” Kitty mimicked, taking Anne’s hand and allowing her to touch the jagged scar she had on her neck, exactly where Anne’s was. She traces her other scars with trembling hands and she tries to keep the tears from falling but all efforts were futile.

“We’re the same, you and I,” Anne breathes. “I just wish it wasn’t in this way.”

She leans down to kiss Kitty’s forehead, and at that moment, she had never felt so seen and loved before. More tears fall.

“They can’t touch you anymore,” Anne sniffles, smoothing her hair. “They’re gone.”

“I know. They in my head now.” Kitty says sadly, wrapping her arms around Anne’s middle. It seems as if time had stopped and it was only them now, and there was something oddly comforting about that.

“I know how it feels, love,” Anne sighs. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Kitty reassured, her voice extremely relaxed. Her head was resting on Anne’s chest, the sound of her heartbeat calming her down. Tentatively, Kitty gazes up and nuzzles her nose against Anne’s neck, against her scar, and warmth radiates throughout her body.

“Thank you, my gorgeous girl,” Anne breathes, hugging the little girl impossibly tighter.

Kitty smiles.


End file.
